aaamusic | On 02, May 2011

Irish Songwriter, Don Scannell, has released his debut album Three Pieces of Silver. We are greeted with an intro and hugged by an outro; those of which consist of the sound of crackling film, twiddling instruments and airy vocals. Note: The intro/outro structure is a dying art, it is nice to see it resurrected. Moving into the body of the album itself we find a sound that is mostly downbeat. Some of the more quieter and introspective tracks just manage to have the right amount of tenderness to make them listenable and the more ‘dated’ songs such as Glimmering Star, Evoke the Night and These are the dreams give a more folk-like and rustic style to the album – but to evoke interest the he should have done an interpretation of folk-music, spun it on its head, done something different, instead we filler rather than killer. The ‘dated’ feel of the album is also induced by the fact that he has an interesting Morrissey-sounding tone with rounded vowels and ethereal notes, these serve as good indicators of his musical ability. The more up-tempo tracks, such as mystery is a world away from the direction that the album seem to be veering off towards– yes, it may clearly have the same vocals, yes, the intent of the lyrics remain unchanged but there is nowhere else on the album that you can find a syncopated drum pattern and a catchy almost ‘pop’ chorus. It surely is a mystery why the bold and energetic track mystery opens up an album that clearly has comes across as an emotionally-disturbed recluse. Unfortunately, a disproportionate amount of criticism has taken centre-stage over adoration but when you see a talent like Don Scannell you focus all your energy trying to make him the best he can be, so these are the facts: he can sing brilliantly, can play brilliantly, can write brilliantly – his album has feeling and his lyrics have soul, his music at times soothes and on occasion excites. Maybe some people do not have the mental agility to appreciate his slow-metered style or maybe he simply hasn’t developed enough to pull it off with perfection, whatever the case, you cannot deny the man’s talent. Three Pieces of Silver just about manages to stir the curiosity to see what Don Scannell has in store for the public next.

Author: Angel Lambo